


A Rock Under Me

by Dangersocks



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Fiori - Freeform, Gen, M/M, downtime, maybe they're just friends, painfully subtle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2013-01-22
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:57:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangersocks/pseuds/Dangersocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fili's glad to see someone other than Kili for once.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Rock Under Me

The sun was magnificently warm and the long, flat rock absorbed the heat and radiated it. Altogether, Fili couldn't think of a better place to be.

His braids had dried off long ago and he felt clean and content on his own, while everyone else in the Company washed in the river beyond the copse of birch trees.

Fili had always been (what was the word the Hobbit used?) "tidy." It had always been his habit to wash thoroughly and without much fussing so Fili could spend only a few moments at the task and be successfully done with it. What also helped was that he maintained himself a lot better than his brother who was always with him, and by comparison Fili always looked well-kept to Kili's disarray.

With the blessing of those determining the adventure's pace, Fili's comrades had torn off their gear and clothing and gone charging into the stream. Fili had joined them for mere moments before declaring himself clean.

He could remember the last time he had gone swimming with his brethren, and he still bore a scar from Kili's shenanigans. Retreating to this place was preferable and dozing was a right of his anyhow. Fili would take up much of the watch tonight and getting some sun and shut-eye was welcome and wise for him to do.

He shifted and laced his fingers behind his head, content to let his travel furs and tunic drip over the ledge of his rock. It took a lot to tan Dwarf skin but with this heat, perhaps the sun would do it. Fili liked the possibility and felt a smile tug it's way into being.

He enjoyed everything about this momentary peace from their journey. Faintly, he could pick out the pieces of shouts and challenges from the stream but mostly he ignored them. Birds sang, and the leaves sometimes rattled all around him. An odd bug would buzz or bumble by and Fili relaxed into the world that existed here, a long ways removed from family duty and threat of bloodshed.

Fili would willingly drive himself into either of these things for Kili, Thorin, and any of his brethren. But it demanded a toll, which he could appreciate more in quiet moments.

His thoughts dwindled and Fili nearly did fall into a sleep when something stirred his attention. He lost the shadow of a grin and listened closely to find the source of his distraction. It was not long before he picked out the soft sound of grass being disturbed not far from his left.

Fili's first thought was that Kili had come to seek him out. Perhaps the lad had a helmet filled with river water and an inkling to surprise his unsuspecting brother. The potential did not sit well with the Dwarf and as subtle as he often was, Fili opened one eye and peered out at the culprit.

It was not Kili, but Ori. And the smaller Dwarf paused immediately, watching the rock carefully in his damp trousers complete with belt, and his cloak wrapped around his torso and head like a blanket. He had a small satchel that was miraculously dry in his keeping, drawn tight to his chest.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," he stated, sincere.

Fili relaxed his shoulders and sighed. "No need to apologize," he answered, glad to see Ori instead of mischief from his brother. Over the treetops, there was someone yelling Kili's name angrily, which sounded about right.

Ori glanced back at the call and said, "it's very wet back there and I wanted to do some drawing."

Fili craned his neck down and scrutinized the area of his flat stone. There was room for two if he shifted to the corner. With some lethargy, he pulled himself up in a sit-up and then unlaced his fingers from around his head. He patted the side of the stone invitingly.

Something in the way Ori's eyes lit up caught Fili off guard and the smaller Dwarf crossed the distance eagerly and then scrambled the small height with some care not to drip on his host. The enthusiasm was perhaps like watching a dam burst with long-contained water, Fili thought. Or like a child being granted permission to go somewhere long anticipated. They were strange analogies that fit almost too well, Fili noted.

Ori sat cross-legged, a notable distance from Fili and seemed to take stock of his new placement. He looked once at Fili's expression—was it bemusement Fili was showing?—before directing all of his attention to his satchel with ears that were surprisingly red.

Shrugging inwardly, Fili let himself back into a lifeless sprawl on the rock, finding his new arrangement hot against his skin. He clenched his teeth a moment, bearing it with the knowledge that he'd grow used to the heat again soon. Ori was perfectly quiet with his rummaging and not unwelcome beside Fili.

A moment passed with a small skritch of quill on paper, and then those sounds too became part of the peaceable world around Fili. He breathed steadily and dozed after realizing that he felt more at ease now than when he had been alone.

Perhaps he did worry more than he consciously thought, always needing to know where the others were—watching Kili, or not able to even leave himself unguarded. While Ori was not of Durin's line, he was still sharp-eyed and sensible. Fili valued that.

An hour may have gone by unnoticed before Fili became aware of a distant question asked soft-spoken from beside him.

"Would you mind if I drew you?"

Fili felt his brows knit together as he came back to himself, identified the request and then noted Ori's tone. No, he couldn't quite place what it was that he heard invested in that question. Letting it go in his typical fashion, Fili shrugged.

"If you let me look at it later, by all means…" he muttered. Aware now that his fingers were becoming numb from lack of movement, Fili unlatched his hands, flexed them once and then placed them at his belly. He felt his head loll and he let it. He didn't open his eyes. Perhaps he didn't need to inspect Ori's expression or investigate further. It could just be what it would be.

The sound of sketching resumed.

Somewhere beyond the trees, Gandalf was warning Kili not to drown their Burglar, and all was right with Middle Earth.

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on Tumblr commented on Fili/Ori, and having never shipped it before, suddenly I couldn't separate the existence of a one-sided crush from my expectations of their friendship. It lives in my head now. It's moved its stuff in to stay. I've given up grumbling. 
> 
> Read into it or don't. But please at least enjoy.
> 
> (Somewhere along the lines of this fic, Fili became my favourite.)


End file.
